1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a universal fitting for a receptacle into which an inoculum may be introduced or withdrawn for subsequent examination, and more particularly, concerns such a fitting which is substantially centered on and securely gripped to such receptacle.
2. Background Information
When blood or other body fluids, taken from a patient, must be tested in the laboratory, it is common procedure to use specimen culture bottles or vials. These culture bottles are usually made of glass or plastic and include an entry portion sealed with a pierceable septum. This septum is usually made from rubber or other thermoplastic material which may be pierced by a sharp needle or cannula for introducing the liquid specimen into the bottle or for withdrawing a liquid specimen from the bottle. Once the needle is withdrawn, the rubber material of the septum reseals itself. It is also known to employ a septum with a small slit already included. Rather than use a sharp-pointed needle for penetration, this septum may be penetrated with a blunt cannula or like instrument.
While blood or other body fluids may be collected directly into any specimen culture bottle, it is typical to employ intermediate collecting devices to obtain the liquid samples. Blood samples from patients may be taken with a conventional syringe. This technique permits the technician to inoculate one or more blood culture bottles with the collected blood sample. In another technique, blood may be collected into an evacuated blood collection tube and sent to the lab. When the blood is ready for testing, the specimen may be withdrawn from the evacuated tube by use of a syringe and needle, and the blood is then inoculated into one or more blood culture bottles.
Whether blood is drawn directly or indirectly from the patient into a blood culture bottle or the like, it is desirable to use techniques which minimize the user's exposure to sharp-pointed needles. In this regard, it is known to use a fitting which is placed over the top of the culture bottle. The fitting may include a needle or cannula element so that when the fitting is placed over the entry portion of the bottle, the needle penetrates the septum and extends into the interior of the bottle. Then, a syringe with the blood or other body fluid may be connected to the fitting by a well-known luer connection, thus eliminating the use of a needle at the end of the syringe. Such fittings are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,709 and European Patent Application 89112256.6.
Further improvements in the use of such a fitting have been sought. For example, improvements in maintaining the fitting securely in place on the culture bottle would be helpful. Further, and particularly where the septum in the culture bottle may have a previously fabricated slit, it would be helpful to be able to center the fitting as it is placed over the entry portion of the bottle. It is toward these and other improvements that the present invention is directed.